


A Reborn Ghost

by Musical_life



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Blood, Body Horror, F/F, Fridge Horror, Gore, Multi, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-07-23 13:04:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16159520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musical_life/pseuds/Musical_life
Summary: Phantoms, monsters whispered about when no one else is around. An open secret, some think they were once human; others think they never were.Either way, they now prey on humans and are put down soon after a report is made.Akira will find out just how true the rumors are and wish he hadn't.Come talk to me and/or toss your own ideas around at thePhantom server!





	1. From the Frying Pan into the Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Phantom AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11287494) by [Zilleniose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zilleniose/pseuds/Zilleniose). 



> Thanks goes to [Furious_Pines](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Furious_Pines/pseuds/Furious_Pines) for betaing and being a soundboard.

Akira arrives at Shibuya’s Scramble looking around for the connecting train leading to Yongen-Jaya, while doing so a Metaverse tear opens up next to where he is standing and a cloud of Desire emerges, latching on to the nearest person who is feeling anything truly negative, such as depression, which happens to be Akira himself. Akira blinks his eyes as the world starts to move from where it had appeared to stop.

Akira finds his train and heads onto Yongen-Jaya, knowing he’ll have to find Sakura Sojiro’s house somewhere in the backstreets of the place. He eventually does but gets directed to Leblanc.

A couple of days after finding his new residence, Akira wakes feeling nauseated. He blinks, trying to stand up despite the pounding in his skull. Sojiro offers him coffee and curry, which he’s starting to become accustomed to during the admittedly brief time he’s spent here, but he’s barely able to swallow a few bites before sticking the rest into the fridge for later and pushing the cup away completely.

“You ok, kid?” Sojiro looks mildly concerned, a rare occurrence for him. 

“Headache,” Akira grits out, trying to remain standing and leaning on the counter to do so.

Sojiro rushes into the bathroom and grabs a couple tablets of Naproxen before returning and handing them to Akira along with a glass of water. “Drink it and hurry off to school, you should be fine by the time you get there. I’d better not hear you were late.”

Akira groans, “Yes sir,” before taking the meds and plodding out the door, flipping the sign to open on the way out.

* * *

Akira exits the station grimacing as the rain falls, obscuring the glasses he wears as he’s nearsighted, making it even harder to see. He removes them and tucks them into the breast pocket of his uniform just as someone slams into him from his left side, Causing him to stumble and nearly fall. Grunting, he turns around to anchor a swift glare to whoever wasn’t watching where they were going.

The person straightens up, revealing messy blond hair, a look of guilt and concern on their face. “Shit, sorry dude! I was trying to stop someone I know from getting into a car with a slimeball.”

“Obviously it didn't work,” Akira grumbles under his breath as the other male looks at him curiously before kicking at a stray can.

“Yeah, that bastard teacher!” The short, excitable blond yelled in frustration.

“Hmm?” Akira makes a curious sound.

“You don't know him? Don't you go to this school? I'm Sakamoto Ryuji, by the way,” He said, looking mildly embarrassed by his poor manners before he proceeds to investigate Akira.

“You're that transfer student aren't you? People have been talking about you.”

Akira rubs his forehead as he suddenly feels dizzy. “Yeah.”

Ryuji grabs Akira's arm. “Come on, we'd better hurry!” Akira finds himself dragged to school.

* * *

After school, Akira heads back to Leblanc, he can’t think of it as home just yet as he’s only been there for a couple of days. Sojiro hasn’t exactly been accommodating, and he made sure since the day he arrived to let Akira know that he wasn’t truly welcome there, and it’s hard to accept that his parents shipped him off without a second thought to some… Stranger, but he wants to make this work. He has to, he doesn’t have a choice. Damn that man for being so clumsy, and damn himself too for wanting to do the right thing. _I guess it doesn’t pay to do the right thing…_ Akira thinks before he begins coughing, unable to breathe.

Stumbling, he realizes how thankful he is for the poles on the train. It makes it easier to hide that he’s still shaking, and keeps him from accidentally falling on someone. Luckily, by the time he gets off the train, the dizziness and his headache has eased as well as the sudden coughing fit, making it easy to get back home. Sojiro is there waiting impatiently.

“Get something to eat then head back upstairs, I’m going to lock up for tonight,” He tells Akira gruffly while muttering to himself about how much a pain in the ass it is to wait for his charge to arrive.

Akira just nods, quietly memorizing Sojiro’s scent as he leaves, the older man smells of coffee, curry, and cigarettes - an odd, but somehow pleasing scent that makes a part of him purr. Doing as bid, he ignores the faintly tempting raw strips of beef and grabbing the plate beside it. He shuts the door and places the plate on the counter, taking a seat and eating a dinner that tastes off, but he can’t say why. After cleaning his plate and setting it on the rack, Akira heads upstairs to finish his homework before getting ready for bed.

* * *

The next day finds Akira dizzy and weak but he finds enough strength to haul himself out of bed and stumbles down to the bathroom, hugging the toilet bowl. Blood, pieces of last night’s meal, and finally bile mixed with more blood are given to it. Akira tries to get himself in order after looking up and seeing Sojiro as he looks on in worry, Akira didn’t notice the older man opening the door and seeing him in the state he was in.

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to go to school?” Sojiro asks carefully as Akira looks up at him.

“Yeah, I’ve no choice, do I?” Akira flushes the toilet and begins to put himself to rights.

Sojiro rubs the back of his neck. “I suppose not. Head upstairs and get dressed, I’ll have something set out for you when you return.”

Akira does so and comes back down to see Sojiro setting down a cup of peppermint tea and some toast. He thanks Sojiro and begins to eat, despite the toast tasting like ash in his mouth and the tea isn’t much better. Akira heads off to school with a worried Sojiro staring at his back - is it just him or did it ripple oddly?

* * *

After Akira’s first period, he stops by the bathroom and regurgitates the food he was given that morning. He had wanted to during, but luckily was able to keep his stomach from rebelling, a move his stomach made him pay for as he was barely able to get to a stall before heaving and this time he had to close his eyes as they felt like they were burning. _Please tell me I’m dreaming, I can’t be a Phantom, I just can’t… I’m not a monster…_ He prays desperately, not wanting to face the truth. He opens them to find nothing, he hears water rippling nearby and smells the nauseating scents of piss, blood, and other unappealing things.

Akira finds the handle to the toilet and flushes it, wincing at the sound before carefully feeling the wall and grimaces at how disgusting it is, he finds the handle and exits the stall. He finds the sink by pure luck and after washing his hands, the soap feels wrong to him, too chemically to his nose and skin. He leaves the bathroom and tries to find the way back to his class, following his own scent.

The rest of the day passes by agonizingly slow, in between rumors of him being sick and wondering why he even came to school start to spread another mentions his eyes and how they don’t seem to focus properly with the originator wondering if he’s just faking being able to see to begin with, he overhears a conversation where two of his classmates are hoping it’s not contagious. After school, Anne and Ryuji corner him asking what’s wrong. Akira doesn’t answer and instead walks away, heading back to Leblanc. He can’t tell them after all, no one needs to know.

Sojiro looks up as Akira enters the shop. “I heard you were sick this morning.”

“It’s nothing, I’m fine.” Akira deflects easily not looking at Sojiro, but Sojiro doesn’t believe it.

“If you say so…” Sojiro replies doubtfully as Akira climbs the stairs to the attic bedroom, ignoring Sojiro’s offer of food. In the privacy of his room, Akira allows himself to cry uncaring if anyone hears him.

* * *

Sojiro notices on the morning of the 14th that Akira is listless, his eyes are bloodshot, and he’s focusing on his cup of coffee. Sojiro serves him a larger than usual helping of curry seeing as he missed dinner last night.

“You’d better not pass out while on the train or at school. If you still feel off afterward, we can talk then.” Sojiro tells the younger man sternly before his voice softens at the end.

Akira just nods, finching at how loud Sojiro’s voice is compared to when he arrived and flips the sign on the way out, feeling that gnawing emptiness that he’s come to be familiar with over the last week or so. Luckily, no one says anything - Akira senses they are too afraid to but can’t say why that fact excites a part of him - but Anne and Ryuji are starting to give him some concerned looks while he pokes at his bento during lunch after noticing he’s been making frequent trips to the bathroom and the rumors that he’s ill that have started because of it.

After school lets out, Akira heads back to Leblanc and is met by a waiting Sojiro who looks at him carefully. “Any problems?” Sojiro asks him quietly, remembering how Akira had flinched this morning.

“No more than usual, but I feel tired. I’m just going to head upstairs.” Akira explains softly.

Sojiro sighs and tosses something at him before beginning to leave. “Here’s a key to this place, there’s a clinic just down the street if you start to feel lightheaded.” 

Before Akira can nod, he’s already gone. He looks down at the key and places it in his bag, zipping it closed once more. He pokes around the fridge looking for something to eat, his stomach cries out as he sees the raw meat there. Akira grabs it, clinging to the hope that Sojiro won’t mind, he’s just so hungry….

Akira places it on a plate and starts slicing the beef into thin strips, the juice from the meat just making him hungrier. He tosses the knife into the sink after licking the remaining juice from it and begins to gnaw on the strips, it tastes better than he thought it was going to. Akira looks in the fridge hoping for more but finds none, pouting, he rinses the plate and sets it on the side to dry along with the knife before heading to bed, feeling better than he has in days.

That night Akira dreams he’s looking at himself, but the image has red slitted eyes, claws, feathers for hair, and sharp teeth. Not to mention the wings he can see behind the figure. He wakes up chilled, gasping for air and feeling like his airway is blocked by something. He coughs and his hand comes away sticky with blood. After wiping it on his pajama pants and making a note to hide the stain from Sojiro, he takes hours to get back to sleep. Even then, it’s fitful.

* * *

The next morning after placing the soiled garments in the bottom of his laundry basket and making a note to wash them that night at the laundromat, Akira heads downstairs on weak legs and asks Sojiro for a thermos with tired eyes and a shaky hand before pouring his cup of coffee and then some into it and leaving, not even hearing his calls to come back and clean up the coffee he spilled on the counter. In Shinjuku, he grabs a container of salmon sashimi and devours it quickly before tossing the remains in a nearby trashcan and catching the train to Syujin. It’s not as satisfying as the beef from last night though and Akira shies away from just why that is.

During school, Akira runs to the bathroom a few times to empty his stomach; nausea getting to him, he looks disgusted at seeing blood and bits of raw meat in the toilet. _What a waste of food_ Akira thinks, just as he retches again. This time, he feels something large in his mouth and he coughs trying to remove it. He’s not sure why, but Akira feels better - like something that needed to be removed was. He flushes without looking down, not seeing the pieces of what looks like bone floating on top.

He along with the rest of the class sees Shiho on the school’s roof but before she can jump a rift opens behind her and a gust of wind suddenly blows her toward it.

“No! I have to find her!” Anne cries out, worried.

After the day ends, Akira heads to Yongen-Jaya but before heading back to Leblanc, he decides to find that doctor Sojiro told him about just so he can say he’d gone and not have Sojiro nag at him because he hadn’t.

One quick look around later finds Akira at Takemi’s clinic, he enters to be faced with the doctor herself.

“I'm pretty sure I have a problem, can we talk privately?” Akira requests.

“Sure, head into the back, I can examine you there.” Takemi remarks.

Akira does so and sits on the bed.

“So what’s the problem?” Takemi looks bored.

Akira looks shifty, before holding his mouth closed in alarm and quickly running outside where he begins to retch once more. Tae sees teeth that are sharper than a human’s in the boy’s mouth.

Tae looks at the young man in slight pity. “I see, come back inside and sit, I’ll clean up and we can talk about this properly.”

Akira goes back inside, while Tae whispers something under her breath causing the pile of vomit mixed with blood to vanish like it never was.

Takemi faces Akira after she enters the back room. “You have to know that there’s no way to cure an infection of this type, your only hope is that when you blossom for the lack of a better term, you are not a danger to the population at large.”

Akira listens attentively as Takemi continues to speak.

“Before that day comes I would like to keep notes on what your current physical and mental states are at, And afterward, if you need treatment in any form, my door will always be open. Also, I’ve noticed you’ve been hunching your shoulders a bit, turn around so I can examine your back and take off your blazer and top.”

“What do I get out of it?” Akira asks while doing so and Tae sees that his skin is stretched taut with something black internally extending from his shoulders all the way down to his lower back, it looks like it’s pressing on his ribs and causing his shoulder blades to jut out more prominently than usual.

“I have no way to pay you for the exams plus I need to figure out how to pay Sojiro back for...” Akira chokes up.

“For?” Takemi waits, knowing this is important and the least she can do is listen.

Akira looks down in shame, a sob in his voice. “I had the beef he uses in his curry. I have nowhere else to go if he kicks me out.”

Takemi hugs Akira in sympathy. “I know Sojiro, whatever he told you at the beginning was not something he truly meant in the way you’ve taken it. Now, come. I’m sure you’re hungry again. Let’s grab something for you and to take back to him as a peace offering.”

Takemi leads Akira to the supermarket nearby and they pick up chicken for Sojiro and some salmon for Akira.

The walk to Leblanc is quiet, Takemi tells Akira to wait while she talks to Sojiro.

A few minutes pass, Akira overhears his name mentioned several times, as well as other things that he willfully ignores before Takemi calls out, letting Akira know he can enter. Akira does so, looking like a wounded animal before Sojiro places his hand on Akira’s shoulder. “Thank you, doctor; I think I can take it from here.” Tae nods and leaves.

Sojiro waves Akira to a seat and begins to make him a cup of coffee. “I’ve been thoroughly chastened on my earlier actions towards you, and I’d like to say I’m sorry for the unintentional distress I’ve put you though. Now, finish your dinner and if you need money for food until you can get a job, just ask.” Sojiro heads home.

Akira looks relieved and does as bid, a sensation of warmth, that’s not from the coffee, in his chest. He rinses out his cup and tosses the package containing the salmon into the trash before heading upstairs to get some sleep, feeling full for the first time in days and forgetting that he needs to do laundry as he faceplants onto the mattress.

* * *

Akira wakes up sore and on his stomach, the same position he fell asleep in last night, his shoulders and back ache for some reason; is it just him or do the stairs look less blurry than yesterday? Akira sees strands of his hair around the bed and feels his head, only to find it fluffier than yesterday. He shrugs, putting that train of thought out of his mind before cleaning up the hair and getting ready for the day. Akira finds out his uniform feels tight around his shoulders along with his skin itching before heading downstairs for his usual cup of coffee and curry. He smiles at Sojiro in thanks, and the older man just shudders.

“Don’t. You look like you’re about to maul someone when you smile like that.”

“Oh,” Akira’s face falls. “I’m sorry.”

Akira leaves for school, depressed, and blinks at seeing Kamoshida first thing that morning. _ick, a pink speedo? And what’s with the yellow eyes…_ It fades and Akira is quick to dismiss it as a hallucination as he hurries to his first class of the day.

During lunch, Akira, Anne, and Ryuji hang out together, chatting aimlessly about their lives.

After school, Akira heads back to Leblanc and gets started on his homework before heading downstairs and grabbing some of the beef with his name on it. He washes the plate quickly and setting it off to the side so it can dry before getting ready for bed.

The next morning Akira heads to school like normal, thankful it's a Saturday, when he doesn't see Anne or Ryuji. He sends both a quick text, glad that they had exchanged numbers a week ago. There's no reply, as the day goes on he starts to get even more worried. He overhears Kawakami-sensei talking to someone but he’s not sure who.

“Takamaki didn’t show up today, neither did Sakamoto for that matter but that’s nothing new.”

Akira hears the other person reply when he checks his phone once more and shakes his head, blaming the tightness in his throat as worry when he doesn’t see a reply to his constant texts. Frowning, he checks around the school entrance for them, they’re not around. Akira starts panicking after checking the underground mall as well as the arcade - places he knows Anne and Ryuji hang around and decides to check the back alley near the school, he remembers Ryuji mentioning it one day shortly after he transferred in.

At the alley, Akira feels something off, it makes his fingers itch and it turns into discomfort and then outright pain as the nails on both his hands lengthen into claws. He instinctively raises his right hand and slashes at the air, causing a rift leading into the Metaverse to appear. Akira steps inside to find himself faced with a castle, he walks in only to find Anne and Ryuji hiding behind a pillar with a shadow right behind them as he sees another boxing them in. The one behind them starts to bring its sword down as Akira runs toward them, screaming in fear followed by agonizing pain as he raises his arms to try and block the sword instinctually.

Anne and Ryuji look on in horror as their friend gains about three feet in a matter of moments followed by him scratching at his skin, strips of it coming away and showing the feathers underneath. His feet grow larger and gain claws, his wings burst out of his back in a spray of blood, bone, and strips of skin that cover Anne and Ryuji as they begin growing and most of his skin being torn away by Akira’s claws as he scratches himself, trying to relieve the itch and is replaced by black feathers. The new phantom looks at the shadows in front of him and tears into them, Anne and Ryuji try to find safety while hearing the tearing of limbs and crunching of bone, hoping that they won’t be next.

After Akira finishes the shadows off, he settles down in front of Anne and Ryuji and starts to lick the blood off of his feathers, ignoring them. Ryuji inches closer before being held back by Anne.

“Are you nuts? He’s a phantom!” Anne screams at Ryuji, causing said phantom to look up, wondering where the threat is.

“But he’s our friend, shouldn’t we try and get close while he’s not inclined to attack?” Ryuji counters as Anne lets go in disgust.

“Fine, but it he mauls you, it’ll be your own fault.”

Ryuji edges towards the phantom form of his friend, carefully scratching at a place he can reach when Akira’s tail reaches out towards Anne and snags her before putting her near Ryuji and covering them with his wings, making happy chirping sounds as he begins to walk towards the rift with them in his hands.

“Come on, we need to get home and you should change back if you can, Akira.” Ryuji points out. “My ma will certainly know I’m missing by now.”

Akira tilts his head in confusion. “Change?”

“Yeah, buddy; we can’t take you back in the real world like this. You need to be human, or as human as possible at least.” Ryuji encourages him.

“I try.” Akira tries to find the memories of being human, but his instincts aren’t helping. After what seems like a long period of time, but is actually only five minutes, he’s able to turn back to a mostly human form, albeit one with small wings, feathers for hair and slitted red eyes not to mention the tail that stubbornly decided to remain. Ryuji looks over at his mostly human, although naked friend and hands Akira his jacket. “Hopefully we can find a clothing store near the school, I don’t relish trying to take him on the train in his condition.”

Anne muses out loud. “I’m sure there is one. If nothing else, we can duck into the school and grab some of your gym stuff, Ryuji.”

“Great…” Ryuji sighs. When we come back here, it’ll have to be after we get another set of clothes for this guy and costumes for us along with anything else we need.”

The three of them walk through the rift that remains open and after not seeing a shop around, sneak a mostly nude Akira into the gym while Ryuji goes to his locker and grabs the clothes there, handing them to Akira while Anne turns her back so Akira can get dressed although he can’t wear the shorts. The three of them go on the train to Shibuya and drag Akira to a clothing store, explaining that he had an accident with the clothes he was wearing and needs new ones but not specifying what the accident was.

After getting everything Akira needs, including a hat to hide his hair and the small nubs hidden by it as well as a new long coat for his wings as well as the tail, Anne, Ryuji, and Akira split up and head for their respective homes.

Akira enters Leblanc and heads upstairs, he gets undressed and after cutting a slit into his pajama bottoms carefully to account for his tail and putting them on. He doesn’t care about the top and it would be uncomfortable with his new wings anyway, just getting the pajama pants adjusted was hard enough. He proceeds to flop onto his stomach, he’s found that position more comfortable than anything else, falling asleep immediately.


	2. Murder Bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another week, another chapter. I'm not sure how fast chapter 3 will be out, it's outlined but things are coming up soon that will put a damper on writing.

Akira wakes to the smell of Sojiro, cigarette smoke mixed with freshly brewed coffee and the spices that he's coming to recognize as those in curry. His stomach growls, and he feels as if he’s confined in the small dusty walls of his attic room. He wants to fly, but he feels like he’s not ready to yet. Thankfully no one else is in the cafe when Akira comes down carrying his clothes for the day in his left hand with a laundry basket under his other arm as Sojiro sees his tail and wings. Sojiro sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose before facing Akira, looking into his slitted red eyes.

“You’d better hide those as well as your eye color, we don’t want anyone from MISPER coming around here because someone saw you,” Sojiro scoffs, vaguely gesturing at Akira, who quickly enters the bathroom, somehow managing to snake his tail down one of his pant legs before pulling them up and exiting with his clothes. As he leaves, Sojiro gives him a couple of 1000 yen bills and a pair of sunglasses he picked up just in case something like this happened, for the bathhouse and laundromat.

Akira runs upstairs to grab a jacket before he picks up everything and heads outside. At the laundromat down the street, Akira separates his clothes, putting the whites in one machine and the colors in another. He’s thankful that Sojiro is taking care of him. After the machines are running, Akira ducks into the bathhouse. Thankfully it’s late enough that no one is there but Akira resolves to start taking his baths late at night, there’s less chance of getting caught that way.

After getting dressed and moving his laundry from the washers to the driers, Akira waits for the loads to finish, taking them one at a time back to Leblanc and setting them down due to the fact he doesn’t have a dresser. Akira heads to Shibuya and looks at the job ads posted in one of the magazines located off to the side. He calls the convenience store and is asked to come in for an interview, grabbing some grey contacts on the way and popping them in after removing his sunglasses, thirty minutes later he’s given a uniform that is thankfully not form fitting and put to work.

* * *

_Work was pretty busy,_ Akira muses as he changes out of his uniform. _It seemed to slow down a bit there at the end, I wonder why?_ Akira grabs a bento and uses some of his limited funds to pay for it. He exits and moves off to a side street to eat his lunch before heading to Shibuya’s platform and back to Leblanc. After entering the cafe, Akira walks over to Sojiro and tries to hand him 2000 yen, the same amount Sojiro had given him but Sojiro refuses. “That’s your money, I heard you were working somewhere. In the end, it’s yours and you don’t need to pay me back. It’s not like I don’t have enough as it is.”

“But..” Akira protests.

“Save it and start looking for something you could use in your room, such as a dresser.” Sojiro gives Akira a knowing look. Akira grudgingly agrees and starts to thumb through the paper, looking for a good deal. Akira earmarks one for 4000 yen and checks his phone, thankful it hadn’t been destroyed, seeing the messages from Anne and Ryuji bring a smile to his face as he responds.

Ryuji: I got some stuff for us to use tomorrow.

Anne: Great! Let's meet up after school then.

Akira: Yeah, let's save your friend, Anne!

Akira grabs his dinner, grateful that Sojiro is helping him stay in control for the most part. He’s glad it’s early enough in the year that homework isn’t too much of an issue, he still works on a few papers before heading upstairs to get some sleep.

* * *

Akira vaguely recalls what happened on Saturday, he remembers his friends in trouble, followed by pain and waking up in a body that was his yet felt completely alien to him. He packs some extra clothes as well as his school books and heads to Syujin wearing his new coat that has his phone inside one of the pockets instead of Syujin’s blazer. Thankfully the teachers either don’t notice, or say anything if they do. After school, Anne, Ryuji, and Akira head to the alley on the way to find the rift is smaller than two days ago. They head in, not realizing that Kamoshida had spotted them and followed to get dirt on the new transfer student.

Akira takes his jacket off and sets it over his bag, handing it over to Anne who has by now put on a cat mask while Ryuji wears a skull mask. Ryuji hands a whip to Anne while keeping a bat for himself, he then puts the coat inside the bag and stashes it in a nearby safe room that Akira was able to find while they were exploring the place. They had a few close calls with Shadows, but they were able to keep hidden before finding said safe room.“Can you transform for us? We need you to survive in here.” Ryuji points out after they leave the room and Akira nods. “I'll try.”

Anne and Ryuji back some distance away and wince at hearing the tearing and grunts of pain that become inhuman, that quickly becomes a sigh of relief once they start seeing the blood slowly drip down instead of gushing like the first time. _Maybe this won’t be so bad…_ They think in-tandem only to notice that the blood is more black than red, some of the sheen was there, but they could barely tell. Akira shakes his horned, fluffy head and looks around, giving a disappointed growl at the lack of shadows in the area. He moves forward, searching for prey as Anne and Ryuji follow him cautiously. He spots a shadow guard that quickly gets turned into meaty chunks, Anne and Ryuji look on in fascinated horror as Akira takes a bite out of the organs the shadow has, finishing with its brain, and little remains of the carcass save for some black blood around Akira’s mouth, that and some bones as well as pieces of tissue that he quickly licks his lips, clearing them away and savoring the taste.

Anne and Ryuji slink off to a corner and try to be as quiet as they can while being violently sick, it doesn’t work as Akira hears them. They hold their breath, hoping Akira doesn’t find them. Akira gets faced with more shadows and he tears into them like a fox in a hen-house. Anne and Ryuji move away from their hiding spot and wait for Akira to finish his meal. Anne brings out a piece of Shiho’s clothing and holds it up to Akira who sniffs it curiously. “Seek!” Akira bobs his head and bounds off, going after the scent. Eventually, he stops in front of a door, various shadows have tried to stop Akira but he just claws right through them. “In here?” Anne questions and opens the door after seeing Akira nod.

“You’ll have to be smaller if you want to follow us.” Ryuji points out.

Akira grumbles and whines. “Don’t like it.”

“So what? You’ll smash the door and the wall?” Anne asks incredulously.

Akira looks like he’s considering it and Anne throws her hands up. Akira claws furrows in the door and smashes through it, leaving a Phantom shaped hole where it and some of the surrounding stone used to be. Ryuji and Anne quickly follow, finding themselves in a stark white room that has a circle of alabaster statues of Anne herself in various poses, clothes, and states of undress. In the center is a statue of Anne as an angel. Shiho is kneeling at the base of the statue, her hair, once they can tell it’s her past the large white and blood red feathered wings, is now streaked with white, her eyes are now a golden brown, and she’s wearing just her Syujin uniform, though the back is gone and it’s stretched across her chest, showing off her larger cleavage. “Who dares come near my Anne-sama?”

Anne peaks over Akira’s right leg. “Shiho?”

“Anne-sama? You can’t be her! Anne-sama is an angel! You are just a human!” Shiho leaps towards Anne to be blocked by a growling Akira who pushes her back. Shiho prostrated herself in front of the center statue. “Anne-sama…” Anne approaches Shiho carefully, while she may be somewhat sane, she’s not quite there. As Anne places her hand down on Shiho’s shoulder, Shiho quickly flips her over and places her hands on Anne’s wrists, trapping her. Anne trembles in fear, causing Shiho to breathe it in deeply, savoring the taste and lowers her head to lick Anne’s cheek causing her to shudder and attempt to pull away. “Now, what shall I do with you, little human who wears my beloved’s face?” She runs a talon down Anne’s uniform, exposing milky white skin.

Ryuji lunges at Shiho, screaming “No!” only to be batted away by the wind gusts her wings produce. Akira growls and swipes at Shiho, causing her to release Anne who scrabbles away, covering herself as best as she can with the rags that remain of her old outfit. Anne moves toward Ryuji who doesn’t look at Anne directly, taking off his shirt and handing it over to her who puts it on gratefully. They back out of the room while hearing Akira’s growls as well as the sounds of a body hitting the wall several times, he exits a few minutes later with Shiho following, looking ashamed and submissive.

Shiho looks at Anne, rapture in her eyes. “Anne-sama?”

Anne looks at Shiho and flinches, causing Shiho to whine and look like she’s about to cry. 

Ryuji looks at Anne questionably, who nods. “I’ll be ok.” She answers with a quiver in her voice. “Let’s head back after Akira shifts and hope no one spots her.” The five of them head back to the tear and Akira shifts back as Anne turns away. Ryuji looks at Shiho weirdly before carefully maneuvering her so she’s not facing Akira. Shiho tries to snap at Ryuji’s fingers during this but freezes at hearing Akira’s growl. Akira is quick to change back and hands Shiho his shirt, showing her how to put it on. Akira looks at the rift and doesn’t see anyone so the five of them exit, this is a mistake as they’re spotted but before anyone can take a picture they’ve left. Akira hands Shiho his hat and the three of them head to Anne’s apartment, Ryuji separates from the group and heads home.

After arriving at Leblanc, Akira flips the sign to closed and sets his bag on one of the tables before grabbing his dinner out of the fridge and musing over the day while he eats. Akira’s  
fork stabs the plate instead of meat soon enough and he starts to wash them. He sets them on the rack and moves to the booth, pulling out his school books and working on problems. A few hours later he packs everything away and heads upstairs to get some sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of the city:

“Yes sir, I just received the report about another phantom,” Akechi responds to his employer.

“Good, you know what to do.” Replies the voice on the other end.

“I’m about to head out now, sir,” Akechi replies dutifully.

“I’ll be waiting for your report.” Goro hears a click, he sighs and pockets his phone, grabbing his attache case with the hidden gun inside. _Just another day at work…_ He sighs mentally, ignoring the resentment boiling in his gut at having to deal with the asshole that he, unfortunately, has to be related to before heading to the location the Phantom was recorded as being at, with his new partner, a grey-haired young man, hoping they’ll be nearby.

Goro meets a young woman who lives nearby but she’s evasive when answering their questions while still being honest. At least that’s what his partner told him, but he wouldn’t say just how he knew, leaving Goro to wonder about his partner and what secrets he’s hiding. Goro sighs and bids his partner goodnight before heading back to his 1k. Yu just grins, wondering how easy it would be to corrupt his partner. He’s killing Yu’s kind after all and Yu doesn’t like that.

* * *

Anne, Akira, and Shiho arrive at Anne's penthouse safely. After Akira gives Shiho orders not to harm anyone, he heads back to Leblanc. Upon arriving his phone buzzes and he sees a text from Anne saying that a detective had been asking questions but she was able to deflect him.

Anne: He did give me his card in case I saw anything, his words not mine. Should we keep an eye on him?

Akira: Yes. if Shiho starts to get hungry you can run down to a store and get her some Sashimi, it won’t be as good as raw beef but it will be something.

Anne: Got it! Thanks, Akira.

* * *

Akira lies in bed just after 4 am on the morning of the 19th, paralyzed; his bones feel like they’re withering away… Everything hurts, why does it hurt so much? What did he do to deserve this? Akira feels like he wants to cough or even move, but the air isn’t getting into his lungs. All Akira can do is watch, wait, and hope the feeling passes soon. His spine feels like someone attached a live wire to it, making him feel everything, but he’s helpless to do anything about it. Akira lays there, trying to get some more sleep before the sun through his window hits him in the face, knowing he’ll have to have coffee and plenty of raw meat to even be functional today. He texts Anne and Ryuji shortly after breakfast.

Akira: What’s the plan for tomorrow?

Ryuji’s message pops up first with Anne’s coming in a few minutes later.

R: Find and take care of that piece of shit.  
Anne: It was his fault Shiho was on the roof to begin with, I think we should take her along with us. When we find him, we can decide his fate then.

* * *

**4/20**

Kamoshida is nowhere to be found when Akira, Anne, and Ryuji arrive at school. The teachers are whispering amongst themselves wondering where he is, though Akira’s homeroom teacher notices the coat and asks him to remove it. Akira does so reluctantly, hanging it on the chair, and his wings are on display, causing the students to whisper amongst themselves. Akira looks out the window, brooding and using it to look at some of the more interesting students; the depressed ones, those that don’t quite fit in. The Principle tries to call Kamoshida’s phone to no avail. The students are torn, some are glad for the reprieve while others are wondering about their future. The three of them meet up on the roof after school and look at one another.

“Let’s go!” Ryuji exclaims followed by Anne’s determined nod. They stash their bags and Akira takes his contacts out, placing them in his bag before stashing it and his coat behind the AC duct. Akira slashes his hand through the air and creates a rift just wide enough for his 5’10 form to fit through, Anne and Ryuji go first and Akira follows. Ryuji and Anne keep their distance. Seeing Akira become a monster isn’t any easier the third time around, but they push through it and start to guide Akira through the castle picking up any treasure Akira and Shiho sniffs out before they find the person they were seeking. Akira and Shiho stare at the monster who had either threatened their lives or caused them to become what they are. Ryuji and Anne realize they can’t stop the two of them and don’t even want to try, honestly. They do turn away after hearing the screams that start after Akira tears off Kamoshida's arm followed by Shiho feeding on his fear, not to mention his leg.

Anne and Ryuji try to play some music that they thankfully have saved on their phones in order to drown out the sounds of various screams, tearing and the occasional crunching noises. After four to five songs, or roughly 30 to 45 minutes, Akira and Shiho look up as the four of them hear rumblings and see pillars start to crumble to dust. They run to the rift Akira created and exit it just as the castle finishes collapsing. Akira arrives back at Leblanc and heads upstairs, ignoring the note stuck on the fridge. He’s too full to even think about food.

**4/21**

Akira wakes up to an agonising pain ripping through his abdomen, he bites his lip trying not to scream. Tears leak from his eyes as he endures the pain, feeling like he’s being ripped in two. It finally stops but the aftershocks remain. Akira slips from the bed and shakily stands, carefully moving downstairs and into the bathroom where he hugs the toilet, throwing up. A lot more blood gushes out of his mouth, a blackish-red, the font slows and he’s left with a heavy copper taste and drops around his mouth. It’s almost as if something wants to get rid of the old before replacing it anew. It happens throughout the day and into the next, making Akira even more afraid.

**4/23**

Akira is relaxing in his room when he rubs at his chest, soon slumping to the ground as he feels a sick pop, followed by another. He feels his heart pumping frantically and it begins to slow, the two to five seconds between beats feeling like an eternity. Finally, it stops only for another to start and for some reason, he can breathe again. He rushes downstairs to the bathroom, feeling like he needs to throw up again. This time Akira sees pieces of his blackened lungs and the muscle that makes up his heart along with the now familiar sight of blood. He feels a sense of finality, with dread, he realizes he’s no longer human at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please do comment if you like the story, I read and respond to every one.


	3. Animal I Have Become

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, with this, April is wrapped up.

Akira comes downstairs and looks at Sojiro hungrily, who freezes for a second before carefully pulling out a hunk of raw meat and throwing it in Akira’s direction who leaps up, spearing it with his claws before taking a bite. As the juice runs down Akira’s chin, Sojiro looks outside nervously and breathes a sigh of relief that no one’s at the door. He quickly plates up some rice along with curry and sets it on the bar before starting to brew some coffee.

Akira sits down after licking the juice off and starts eating the curry, he’s finished with his plate as Sojiro takes it and gives him another helping, this time cutting the last of the raw meat into strips in the hopes that it will tame his hunger - the hunk of beef from before certainly didn’t. Sojiro looks relieved when Akira pushes his plate away after finishing, he’ll have to stock up earlier than expected but at least he doesn’t have to worry about a hungry phantom.

Akira hands his phone to Sojiro when asked and the man puts his number in Akira’s contact list, he sees that only Anne and Ryuji are in there and makes a note to ask Akira why his parents' numbers aren’t included as he hands Akira his phone back. Akira takes it and grabs his bag full of random junk the three of them have picked up from Kamoshida’s castle, leaving the cafe to head to Shibuya. After he gets off the train, he’s met by Ryuji who is with an impatient Anne.

“Finally! Ryuji kept me from getting my two daily crepes!” She says, pouting.

“You can get them after we’re done,” Ryuji turns to Akira. “Now come on, it's not far but you don't need to get lost in the crowd,” he jogs forward, Anne right behind him as Akira follows both to a back alleyway.

“This is the place!” Ryuji exclaims while Anne and Akira look at the shop’s sign, stating it as Untouchable, dubiously but head in any way to be glared at by the shop owner who idly flips through a magazine.

“We have some stuff to trade in,” Akira approaches the counter and hands over the bag to a skeptical Iwai who sorts through it and examines some of the items inside. “I can give you 20,000 for the lot,” Iwai looks at Akira, trying not to show how terrified this kid makes him even as the hair on the back of his neck stands straight up. Akira takes a deep breath and licks his lips, creeping Iwai out further.

Ryuji looks like he wants to say something but Anne hisses at him to keep quiet.

“Okay,” Akira's eyes flash towards Ryuji and Anne as he considers buying something to protect them but he doesn't know their preferences yet. Sojiro’s words come back to him as Anne and Ryuji look over the selection. He hopes this won’t drain his limited funds as not only does he need to get a dresser but an actual bed frame wouldn’t go amiss.

Ryuji picks up a spiked bat and brings it to the counter while Anne is still browsing. She finally picks up a Tessen and brings it to the counter. Akira winces at hearing the Tessen is 15,600 alone, he looks relieved the bat Ryuji picked out is only 800 yen. Only having 3,800 yen left hurts and he still has to afford a dresser and the sorely needed bed frame. Akira picks up his bag after Iwai sets the purchases in it, unbeknownst to Akira, Iwai also slipped in a paper bag with an actual gun inside. The three of them leave and Iwai breathes a sigh of relief, closing up shop quickly before heading home - he’s in sore need of a drink or three!

Anne leads Akira and Ryuji to her place after they talk about what to do next, during which Anne picks up her usual crepes, and Akira drops the bag near the chest sitting at the foot of her bed, opening it and placing the weapons from the bag inside before closing the lid. He picks up said bag after looking down and seeing the paper bag in it. Curiously, Akira opens it and sees the gun, he quickly closes the bag and puts it into the chest along with the other weapons. “Thanks for keeping them here, I know I wouldn’t have been able to currently.”

Anne smiles, but it’s strained, Akira is starting to make her feel unsettled. The same way Shiho does when she’s hungry. Ryuji notices and quietly admits to himself he is uncomfortable too, he pulls at Akira’s arm, saying they’ve got to go while wishing Anne a good evening. “Ok, ok, I’m coming! See you tomorrow, Anne!”

Akira and Ryuji separate at the train station with Akira getting on the line heading to Yongen-Jaya. A quick ride later finds Akira getting off at the platform, he heads up and to Leblanc. Sojiro looks up as Akira enters, “You're just in time, the dishes need washing.”

Akira sighs and nods at Sojiro, ignoring how his stomach is complaining. He heads upstairs and sets his bag on the table before heading back down. Akira turns the corner to find an apron tossed his way. “You can have dinner after you're done, I picked up plenty of meat for you.” Akira tossed Sojiro a thankful glance, mindful of the discussion yesterday or was it the day before? He's not sure, the last few days have been a stretched-out blur.

Akira begins to work on the pile of dishes in the sink with Sojiro busies himself with heating up the water for coffee. “Were you able to get that dresser like you were hoping? I noticed you earmarked a listing.” 

Akira’s face falls at Sojiro’s question. “Not yet, I need to pick up a few more shifts before I can get it and an actual bed frame. The crates you have the shikibuton on aren’t exactly conducive to a restful night sleep.”

Sojiro winces, noting his point. “It’s only for a year, you can tough it out. I’m certainly not paying money to make you more comfortable here. You should be lucky I let you stay.”

Akira growls, accidentally breaking a plate and letting his chilling aura flood the cafe. Sojiro shivers, suddenly the brewing coffee doesn’t seem as important. Sojiro looks at Akira wide-eyed with fear. _WTF?!?!!! Is this kid on some weird animal steroids or something? I know what he is but damn..._ Sojiro thinks while a part of his brain is gibbering in unspoken terror. “Uhh… Could you please stop doing that?” The older man whispers with a quaver in his voice.

Akira looks up after smelling the fear coming off the other man as well as hearing it in his voice and sees Sojiro gripping the counter, trying to remain standing. He takes a breath, feeding on said fear as he does so and tries to center himself, it’s not quite successful but he gets Sojiro to stand properly instead of holding onto the bar with a white-knuckled grip.

Sojiro checks the water’s temperature, thankful that it hadn’t gotten too hot as he continues the brewing process. Finally, he’s able to step away for a minute and grabs a container full of previously prepared beef sashimi. He glances at Akira, noticing that whatever he had broken is now missing. _The cups are fine, so are the forks…. Oh, a plate. Well, that’s one more thing I can take out of the funds his parents are paying me for letting him stay here._ Sojiro muses, even as he knows that the money will run out sooner or later. Hopefully later. He sets it and a cup of coffee on the bar, Akira quickly sits down after smelling the coffee and sashimi, he’s hungry even though he feels somewhat full, oddly enough.

After finishing and taking care of the dishes, knowing that Sojiro would want him to do so even though he left while Akira was eating without a word, Akira heads upstairs to work on homework before going to sleep.

**4/25**

The next day, school passes like normal but when it comes time for PE, they are given an extra study period instead. Akira doesn't say anything, just finishes what he was given before heading off to his job in Shibuya. After getting paid for his shift, Akira looks at his funds. _6600 yen, not bad… I can get the dresser I was looking at if no one's bought it already._ He thinks to himself, catching the train back to Yongen-Jaya and making his way back to Leblanc.

Sojiro looks up as Akira enters. “Hurry on upstairs, I still have customers here. You can come down for dinner later.”

“Ok, boss.” 

Akira goes upstairs and after removing his contacts, calls the number in the ad, hoping that the dresser is still available. He gets off the phone a minute later, disappointed. Akira closes his eyes with a sigh. He listens, waiting until all he can hear are the sounds of Sojiro moving around the cafe. Akira slips downstairs with a downcast expression, collects his special curry and heads upstairs. The beef doesn’t taste the same and Akira’s not sure why, after finishing Akira takes the plate and fork downstairs before washing them and placing them aside to dry. He heads upstairs to sleep, barely noticing that Sojiro had left while he was eating.

 **4/26**  
The next day school carries on like normal, Akira ignores the whispers around him as he answers questions when called on, dodges chalk at times, and generally just hangs out with his friends during lunch, besides doing homework during the free period that PE had become.

After school Akira heads to his job, working another shift when around the end of it he gets called in by his supervisor and let go with severance pay because ‘people find him scary’. Akira nods glumly, collecting it and getting his usual sashimi before leaving. He finds a bench and sits down eating his pre-dinner snack while searching used furniture sites, looking for a dresser and bedframe.

Akira finishes his snack and sighs at not finding anything. He catches the train to Yongen-Jaya and walks back to Leblanc, grabbing the as of late usual plate with his name on it and eating it at the bar after making sure the sign is flipped to closed and no-one is looking through the window. After finishing he rinses and dries the plate, setting it in the rack before heading upstairs to bed.

**4/27**

The whispers this morning have changed, there’s talk that Kamoshida is in fact missing and that the police are coming to investigate. Akira, Ryuji, and Anne glance at one another worried what this might mean. Akira just shrugs, and during class, they’re called in to talk to the two detectives on the case; the older one sets Akira on edge, he gets the feeling of electricity around him, who introduces himself as Narukami Yu, along with his partner Akechi Goro.

“I don’t know what to tell you, detectives, that you don’t already know. I’m new to this school after all and it was obvious he didn’t like me for some reason. May I go now?” Akira states with a questioning note at the end.

Yu and Goro look at one another and Yu nods. “You’re free to go,” He slides his card over to Akira who takes it, sliding it into his pocket before standing. “Feel free to call me if you think of anything else.” Akira nods, opening the door and leaving the room.


	4. For Wanting Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we see some of Yu's motivations and past as it pertains to this verse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this finished last month but I only just found the right song for Yu.
> 
> [Darkness on the Edge of Town](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg0ekQBmzKs)

**4/27 - Morning**

Yu looks down at his partner as Akechi gets a call from Syujin Academy. After he gets off the phone, Yu speaks up.

“What was that about?”

“The gym teacher, one Kamoshida Suguru, is missing. We’ve been asked to find him,” Akechi states.

Yu nods, making sure the key to his squad car is in his pocket before walking out to it with Akechi in tow.

As Akechi gets in, Yu turns the radio on and the latest hit from Risette streams from the speakers, causing Akechi to grimace and reach for the nob only to be stopped by Yu. “Leave it, Risette is a good friend of mine.”

Yu begins to drive to Syujin and deliberately releases a very small amount of desire that he had amassed into the car. As expected, it latches onto Akechi, but it’s so small the other male doesn’t realize he’s infected. They get to the school and talk to the Principal who arranges the students to be interviewed by year followed by the class number.

When it comes time to interview Kurusu-kun, Yu noticed his aura immediately and groans mentally, _There's at least one Phantom in this school, at least he’s been keeping control of himself, but how long will that last?_ After they introduce themselves, Kurusu speaks in a calm, yet defensive tone; glancing at Yu in particular after Akechi looks away.

Yu looks at Akechi and slides a business card toward Kurusu that he had made especially in case he found any Phantoms in hiding, covering it up as a directive.

After Kurusu leaves, Yu and Akechi continue interviewing people and Yu takes note of Suzui. As the detectives finish up the interviews and leave, Yu invites Akechi out for some sushi. Akechi accepts and they head to Ginza, much to the others shock and delight.

Yu and Akechi chat with one another over minor things, despite Akechi’s reluctance in regards to small talk, not wanting to discuss the case over dinner. After Yu pays the bill he drives Akechi back to his apartment and drops the car off at the precinct before walking away far enough that the cameras can’t see what he’s doing. He checks to make sure no one is around before opening up a rift and entering the Metaverse.

Yu then closes the rift and lets his human disguise slip, showing clawed fingers and yellow eyes. He then moves roughly to the area is own apartment is at, taking a few bites out of shadows on the way there. The sushi was ok, but it’s not nearly as filling as a shadow or two, though Yu admits to himself that humans would taste better. _I’ll be keeping my eye on Goro the next couple of days, before deciding my next move._ Yu thinks before his thoughts turn to Kurusu and Suzui. _I hope Kurusu-kun reaches out to me, but given his record, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t. Suzui was easier to get a read on but her fixation on Takamaki-san is troubling. I guess I’ll just have to keep my ear to the ground for any more odd events, hopefully, I can catch them before Goro does. If he gets too close, I should be able to divert him._

Yu opens another rift after he enters the area his apartment should be in, the walls and surfaces are tinted red so the only thing he recognizes as being from his apartment is a photograph of his old teammates before they slowly went insane one by one, causing him to put them down like the animals they became and taking care of the bodies each time. After exiting the rift Yu pinches it closed before focusing on his disguise, letting it cover him like a second skin. _Thankfully I only have to hunt every month or so,_ he muses while moving around his place. _Newborns have to hunt more and are easier to find, that doesn't include those who are truly evil and become Phantoms,_ He thinks as he gets ready for bed and sets his phone on the charging dock before closing his eyes.

That night Yu dreams of the days his friends went insane, he remembers having to cut them down one by one and eat them, he remembers the taste - uncaring that these were his friends. Only Rise and Yukiko were able to control themselves and only just barely in Rise’s case.

Kanji was the first to lose control, forcing the others to position themselves around him and giving Yu enough time to pin him down before tearing out his throat; the others turned away in horror at seeing him take down a teammate as Yu lets his instincts have full reign and he munches on the body, he was so hungry back then.

Chie was the next to succumb, no matter what Yukiko or the others did, her bloodlust was too strong; he didn't have a choice, it was eat or be eaten by that point. One by one they surrendered to their demons despite figuring out the best way to appease their new instincts and Yu was the one who granted them their final mercy, sharing the meat with the others still remaining until only he, Rise, and Yukiko were still alive.

Yu wakes up sweating, he hates remembering that time a few years ago. It wasn't until he, Rise, and Yukiko met Minato and Ryoji that they really started to understand what happened and how to keep themselves in check so they don't go on a rampage and attack humans. He sighs before standing up, grabs his phone, and starts to fix some breakfast, it's not much, just some sausage cooked just enough to where it looks brown on the outside.

Yu puts it on a plate and sets it on the table before making coffee, he checks his phone but Kurusu-kun hadn't messaged him. He sighs before texting Akechi-kun, thankful that being his partner means they exchanged phone numbers.

NY: How are you this morning?  
I noticed that you didn't want to talk about the case last night

AG: I'm fine, sorry if I worried you.

NY: It's ok, I just wanted to check up on you.

Minutes pass while Yu waits for a response, finally, as he goes to rinse his dishes, he gets a reply.

AG: Thank you.

NY: Anytime. Yu typed out quickly, he pockets his phone and after putting on a leather jacket with gloves, grabs the keys to his bike along with his, black with silver devil horns on it, helmet. He places it on his head, even though he doesn’t need the protection, and swings onto said bike, releasing the kickstand. Yu secures the strap under his chin and revs the bike, peeling off into traffic on the way to work.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm hoping to publish a chapter every week, though it might be every two weeks. It just depends on how fast I can write and other things.


End file.
